JO HERMANS

With illustrations by Wiebke Drenckhan

Physics
in Daily Life
Foreword by Sir Arnold Wolfendale
 Physics
in Daily Life
 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

P rof. L.J.F. Hermans is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Leiden

University, The Netherlands. In addition to his academic teaching
and research career he was quite active in promoting and explaining
science for the general public. In this context he published, among
others, a book about Every-day science (in Dutch) and two books
about Energy (in Dutch and English). He is presently Science Editor
of Europhysics News. He was appointed Knight in the Order of Oranje
Nassau by Queen Beatrix in 2010.

Wiebke Drenckhan is CNRS researcher at the Laboratoire de

Physique des Solides at the outskirts of Paris, where she tries to unravel
the physical properties of soft materials, such as foams or emulsions. In
her spare time she finds great pleasure in letting scientific issues come
to life with pen and paper in the form of illustrations or cartoons.
 Physics
in Daily Life

JO HERMANS

With illustrations by Wiebke Drenckhan

17, avenue du Hoggar – P.A. de Courtabœuf

BP 112, 91944 Les Ulis Cedex A
 This is a collection of ‘Physics in Daily Life’ columns which appeared
in Europhysics News, volumes 34 - 42 (2003 – 2011)

Mise en pages : Patrick Leleux PAO

Imprimé en France
ISBN : 978-2-7598-0705-5

Tous droits de traduction, d’adaptation et de reproduction par tous procédés, réservés

pour tous pays. La loi du 11 mars 1957 n’autorisant, aux termes des alinéas 2 et 3 de
l’article 41, d’une part, que les «-copies ou reproductions strictement réservées à l’usage
privé du copiste et non destinés à une utilisation collective-», et d’autre part, que les
analyses et les courtes citations dans un but d’exemple et d’illustration, « toute repré-
sentation intégrale, ou partielle, faite sans le consentement de l’auteur ou de ses ayants
droit ou ayants cause est illicite » (alinéa 1er de l’article 40). Cette représentation ou
reproduction, par quelque procédé que ce soit, constituerait donc une contrefaçon
sanctionnée par les articles 425 et suivants du code pénal.
© EDP Sciences, 2012
 CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Foreword ...................................................................................... 7

1. The human engine..................................................................... 11

2. Moving around efficiently ........................................................... 14
3. Hear, hear ................................................................................ 16
4. Drag‘n roll ................................................................................ 19
5. Old ears ................................................................................... 22
6. Fresh air .................................................................................. 25
7. Diffraction-limited photography .................................................. 28
8. Time and money ....................................................................... 31
9. Blue skies, blue seas ................................................................. 33
10. Cycling in the wind ................................................................. 36
11. Seeing under water .................................................................. 39
12. Cycling really fast .................................................................... 41
13. Water from heaven .................................................................. 43
14. Surviving the sauna ................................................................. 45
15. Black vs. white ....................................................................... 48
16. Hearing the curtains ................................................................ 50
17. Fun with the setting sun .......................................................... 52
18. NOT seeing the light ................................................................ 54

5
 CONTENTS

19. Thirsty passengers ................................................................... 57

20. The sauna – revisited ............................................................... 59
21. Refueling ............................................................................... 62
22. Counting flames ...................................................................... 64
23. Drink or drive ......................................................................... 66
24. Feeling hot, feeling cold .......................................................... 68
25. The way we walk ..................................................................... 70
26. Wine temperature .................................................................... 72
27. Over the rainbow..................................................................... 74
28. New light ............................................................................... 77
29. Windmill nuisance ................................................................... 80
30. Fog and raindrops.................................................................... 83
31. Why planes fly ........................................................................ 85
32. Heating problems .................................................................... 87
33. Bubbles and balloons ............................................................... 89
34. Funny microwaves ................................................................... 92
35. Brave ducks ............................................................................ 95
36. Muddy cyclist .......................................................................... 98
37. Flying (s)low .......................................................................... 100
38. Funny ice ............................................................................... 103
39. Amazing candle flames ............................................................. 106
40. Capricious suntime .................................................................. 109

6 PHYSICS IN DAILY LIFE

 FOREWORD

FOREWORD

T he history of Physics in Europe is one of brilliance and the sun

is still shining, indeed it is getting ever brighter, despite the
economic problems. The European Physical Society is a composite
of all the national physical societies and it occupies an important
role in providing advice to its members and a forum for discussion.

Its house journal, Europhysics News, is an exciting small publication,

packed with interesting articles about conferences, national societies,
highlights from European journals and ‘features’. In addition there has
been, for the past decade, a page entitled ‘Physics in Daily Life’. The
present volume is a collection of these pages and is a feast of erudition
and humour, by way of the excellent accompanying cartoons as well
as the subject matter.

It is easy for those of us steeped in our disciplines, of astrophysics,

condensed matter, nuclear physics, or whatever, to think that
‘everyday physics’ is child’s play compared with the deep subtleties
of our chosen subjects. Surely, if we can understand the mysteries
of parallel universes, the behaviour of superconductors or exotic
atomic nuclei, the V-shaped pattern of a duck’s wake in the lake at
the local Wildfowl Park will be a ‘piece of cake’. However, it would
be wise, before telling ones child/grandchild/lady or gentleman
friend or… to read the contribution ‘Brave Ducks’ herein. Quite
fascinating…

7
 FOREWORD

In a similar vein, the Astrophysicist who knows all about the recently
found bubbles in the interstellar medium just outside the heliopause,
and the Local Bubble in which the solar system is immersed, had
better read the ‘Bubbles and Balloons’ piece before setting himself
or herself up as an authority on such matters at the next Christmas
Children’s Party.

Michael Faraday, that physicist of genius, whose discoveries led to

the electrical power industry amongst many other things, lectured
for one hour on the physics and chemistry of the candle flame.
He probably knew the points made in ‘Amazing Candle Flames’
(contribution number 39) but I didn’t. Henceforth, my over-dinner
description of the candle flames at the table will be the envy of my
guests – even the physicists and chemists amongst them (unless they
happen to belong to the EPS).

Turning to our activities on the high seas, where many of us use

our SKI funds (‘Spending the kids’ inheritance’) to take exotic cruises,
we have the oft-sought ‘green flash’ from the sun as it sinks below
the horizon. Wearing our tuxedos and leaning over the rail with our
new-found friends, we have languidly explained what we should have
seen as the sun gently disappeared (only occasionally does it make
an appearance). Beware, however, your explanation may not be quite
right – ‘Fun with the setting sun’ (contribution number 17) will put
you right. Even one’s description of why the sea sometimes looks
blue may turn out to have been wrong! Better to take with you an
absorption curve for water, from 400-700 nm, to nonchalantly fish
out of your pocket at the appropriate moment.

Now to taxi-drivers, most are sources of information, freely

imparted, and their views are strongly held. In order to keep one step
ahead it would be wise to dip into our compendium and produce
such gems as ‘Hearing the Curtain’ (contribution number 16) which
relates to the reason why we all like to sing in the bath. The driver
will be enthralled when you explain that the sound absorption
properties of the curtains are the same whether they are drawn shut

8 PHYSICS IN DAILY LIFE

 FOREWORD

or quite open. Indeed it may lead to some interesting descriptions

of sights that the taxi driver himself has witnessed during his late
night excursions.

So, what about this collection? For me, at least, it scores 10/10
and I recommend it to all who have an interest in the physical
world and explanations of what seem to be – but are often not –
simple phenomena. Not only that, but buy it for your friends and
relatives.

Arnold Wolfendale

(Sir Arnold Wolfendale FRS is a Past-President of the EPS. He is

emeritus Professor of Physics in Durham University, UK)
© David Haldane.

9
7KLVSDJHLQWHQWLRQDOO\OHIWEODQN
 1
The human engine
(and how to keep it cool)

W e don’t usually think of ourselves in that way, but each of us

is an engine, running on sustainable energy. It differs from
ordinary engines in more than just the fuel. The human engine
cannot be shut off; for instance, it keeps idling even if no work is
required. This is needed to keep the system going, to keep our heart
pumping, for example, and to keep the temperature around 37 °C.
Because – and here is another difference – our human engine works
in a very small temperature range.

11
 THE HUMAN ENGINE (AND HOW TO KEEP IT COOL)

It’s interesting to look at this a bit more quantitatively. Our daily

food has an energy content of 8 to 10 MJ. That, incidentally, is
equivalent to a quarter of a litre of gasoline, barely enough to keep
our car going on the highway for about 2 minutes. Those 8 to 10 MJ
per day represent just about 100 W on a continuous basis. Only a
small fraction is needed to keep our heart pumping, as we can easily
estimate from a pΔV consideration (p being on the order of 10 kPa
and ΔV on the order of 0.1 litre, with a heart beat frequency of around
1 Hz).
In the end, those 100 W are released as heat: by radiation,
conduction and evaporation. Under normal conditions, sitting
behind our desk in our usual clothing in an office at 20 °C, radiation
and conduction are the leading terms, while evaporation gives only a
small contribution. But when we start doing external work, on a home
trainer, for example, the energy consumption goes up, and so does
the heat production. Schematically, the total energy consumption Ptot
vs. external work Pwork is shown in the figure, where an efficiency of
25% has been assumed. Thus, if we work with a power of 100 W, we
increase the total power by 400 W, and the heat part Pheat by 300 W.
Now our body must try to keep its temperature constant. That’s
not trivial: if we don’t change clothing, or switch on a fan to make the
temperature gradients near our skin somewhat larger, the radiation
and conduction terms cannot change much. They are determined
by the difference between the temperature of our skin and clothing
on the one hand, and the ambient temperature on the other. When
working hard, we increase that difference only slightly. Granted, due
to the enhanced blood circulation, our skin temperature will get
closer to that of our inner body, but the limit is reached at 37 °C.
Fortunately, there is also the evaporation term. Sweating comes
to our rescue, as also, of course, does drinking! Each additional
100 W of released heat that has to be compensated by evaporation
requires a glass of water per hour (0.15 litre, to be more precise).
The various terms are schematically shown in the figure.
One conclusion: heavy exercise requires evaporation. Don’t try to
swim a 1000 m world record if your pool is heated to 37 °C. You might
not live to collect your prize, because where would the heat go?

12 PHYSICS IN DAILY LIFE

 THE HUMAN ENGINE (AND HOW TO KEEP IT COOL)

Image 1.1 | Total energy production, heat production and heat release vs. external
mechanical power, schematically.

13
 2
Moving around efficiently

E ver considered the efficiency of a human being moving from A

to B? Not by using a car or a plane, but just our muscles. Not
burning oil, but food.
Many physicists will immediately shout: A bike! Use a bicycle! It is
because we all know from experience that using wheels gets us around
about five times as fast as going by foot with the same effort.
But just how efficient is a bike ride? First, we have to examine the
human engine. The power we produce is easily estimated by climbing
stairs. If we want to do that on a more or less continuous basis, one
step per second is a reasonable guess. Assuming a step height of 15 cm

14 PHYSICS IN DAILY LIFE

 MOVING AROUND EFFICIENTLY

and a mass of 70 kg, this yields a power of roughly 100 W. Mountain

climbers will find the assumed vertical speed quite realistic, since it
takes us about 500 m high in an hour, and that is pretty tough exercise.
Riding our bike is pretty much like climbing the stairs: same
muscles, same pace. In other words, we propel our bike with about
100 W of power. But that is not the whole story. The efficiency of
our muscles comes into play. For this type of activity, the efficiency is
not so bad (a lot better than e.g. weight lifting). We may reach 25%.
The total energy consumption needed for riding is therefore around
400 W.
What does this tell us about the overall transport efficiency? How
does this compare with other vehicles? Now it’s time to do a back-of-
the-envelope calculation. If we express 400 W of continuous energy
use in terms of oil consumption per day, we find pretty much exactly
one litre per day, given that the heat of combustion for most types
of oil and gasoline is about 35 MJ per litre. In other words: if, for
the sake of the argument, we ride for 24 hours continuously without
getting off our bike, we have used the equivalent of 1 litre of gasoline
for keeping moving. How far will that get us? That, of course, depends
on the type of bike, the shape of the rider, and other parameters. If we
take a speed of 20 km/h as a fair estimate, the 24 hours of pedaling
will get us as far as 480 km. In other words: a cyclist averages about
500 km per litre.
That’s not bad, compared to a car, or even a motorbike. So, we
should all ride our bike if we want to conserve energy? Careful, there
is a catch. We have been moving on food, not gasoline or oil. And it
takes a lot more energy to get our food on the table than its energy
content may suggest. A glass of milk, for example, takes roughly 0.1
litre of oil, and a kg of cheese even about 1 litre. It’s because the
cow has to be milked, the milk has to be cooled, transported, heated,
bottled, cooled again, transported again, etc. It’s the same (or worse)
for cheese, meat, etc.
Conclusion: Riding our bike is fun. It’s healthy. It keeps us in good
shape. And, if we have to slim down anyway, it conserves energy.
Otherwise – I hate to admit it – a light motorbike, if not ridden too
fast, might beat them all.

15
 3
Hear, hear

E ven a tiny cricket can make a lot of noise, without having to

‘refuel’ every other minute. It illustrates what we physicists
have known all along: audible sound waves carry very little energy.
Or, if you wish, the human ear is pretty sensitive – if the sound
waves are in the right frequency range, of course.
Exactly how our ears respond to sound waves has been sorted
out by our biophysical and medical colleagues, and is illustrated
by the familiar isophone plots that many of us remember from
the textbooks. They are reproduced here for convenience.

16 PHYSICS IN DAILY LIFE

 HEAR, HEAR

Image 3.1 | Isophone curves, with vertical scales in dB (left) and W/m2 (right).

Each isophone curve represents sound that seems to be equally

loud for the average person.
The figure reminds us that the human ear is not only rather sensitive,
but that it also has an astonishingly large range: 12 orders of magnitude
around 1 kHz. This is, in a way, a crazy result, if we think of noise
pollution. It means that, if we experience noise loud enough to reach
the threshold of pain, and we assume that the sound intensity decays
with distance as 1/r2, we would have to increase the distance from the
source r by a factor of 106 to get rid of the noise. Or, if we stand at
10 m from the source, we would have to walk away some 10 000 km.
Here we have assumed that the attenuation can be neglected, since
we have been taught that sound wave propagation is an adiabatic
process. Obviously, real life isn’t that simple. There are several
dissipative terms. For example, think of the irreversible heat leaks
between the compressed and the expanded air. An interesting feature
here is that the classical absorption coefficient is proportional to the
frequency squared, which makes distant thunder rumble. Then there
is attenuation by obstacles. In addition, there is the curvature of the
earth, and the curvature of the sound waves themselves, usually away
from the earth due to the vertical temperature gradient. Without loss
terms like these, forget a solid sleep.

17
 HEAR, HEAR

A second feature worth noticing is the shape of the curves. Whereas

the pain threshold curve is relatively flat, the threshold of hearing
increases steeply with decreasing frequency below 1 kHz. If we turn
our audio amplifier from a high to a low volume, we tend to loose the
lowest frequencies. The ‘loudness control’ is intended to compensate
for this.
Finally, it is interesting to notice the magnitude of the sound
intensity. How much sound energy do we produce when we speak?
Let us assume that the listener hears us speak at an average sound
level of 60 dB, which corresponds to 10–6 W/m2 as seen from the
right-hand vertical scale. Assuming that the listener is at 2 m, the
energy is ‘smeared out’ over some 10 m2. This means that we produce,
typically, 10–5 W of sound energy when we talk. That is very little
indeed. During our whole life, even if we talk day and night and we
get to live 100 years, we will not talk for more than 106 hours. With the
above 10–5 W, this means a total energy of 10 Wh. Even at a relatively
high price of € 0.50/kWh, this boils down to less than one cent for
life-long speaking. Cheap talk, so to speak.

18 PHYSICS IN DAILY LIFE

 4
Drag‘n roll

W hether we ride our bike or drive our car, there is resistance

to be overcome, even on a flat road; that much we know. But
when it comes to the details, it’s not that trivial. Both components
of the resistance – rolling resistance and drag – deserve a closer
look. Let’s first remember the main cause of the rolling resistance.
It’s not friction in the ball bearings, provided they are well greased
and in good shape. It’s the tires, getting deformed by the road. In a
way, that may be surprising: the deformation seems elastic, it’s not
permanent. But there is a catch here: the forces for compression
are not compensated for by those for expansion of the rubber

19
 CAPRICIOUS SUN-TIME

capricious deviations through the seasons: the solar time on the

sundial will almost always run slow or fast with respect to the ‘mean
solar time’ on our watch. It’s all determined by the rotation of the
earth around its axis, combined with its orbit around the sun.

The first thing we realise is that, from one day to the next, the
earth needs to rotate a bit more than 360 degrees for us to see the
sun in the South again. The reason is obvious. During a day, the earth
moves a bit further in its orbit around the sun and thus needs to turn
a little extra to bring the sun back to the same place (remember that
the rotational direction of the earth around its axis and of its orbit
around the sun are both counterclockwise). Now, if the earth were
well-behaved, and would move in a circular orbit around the sun,
with its rotational axis perpendicular to its orbital plane, this would
be the end of the story.

But there are two complications, both of which cause deviations.

The first one is the elliptical orbit of the earth. In fact, the earth is 3%
closer to the sun at the beginning of January than at the beginning
of July. So, the globe must rotate just a bit longer in January to have
the sun back in the South than in July; just think of Kepler’s law.
The result is that the solar time will gradually deviate from the time
on our watch. We expect this ‘eccentricity effect’ to show a sine-like
behaviour with a period of a year.

There is a second, even more important complication. It is due

to the fact that the rotational axis of the earth is not perpendicular
to the ecliptic, but is tilted by about 23.5 degrees. This is, after all,
the cause of our seasons. To understand this ‘tilt effect’ we must
realise that what matters for the deviation in time is the variation
of the sun’s horizontal motion against the stellar background during
the year. In mid-summer and mid-winter, when the sun reaches its
highest and lowest point of the year, respectively, the solar motion is
fully horizontal, so its effect on time is large. By contrast, in spring
and autumn, the sun’s path also has a vertical component, which is
irrelevant here. But it makes the horizontal component smaller in

110 PHYSICS IN DAILY LIFE

 CAPRICIOUS SUN-TIME

these parts of the year, and so also its effect on time. This gives rise
to a sine-like deviation having a period of half a year.

Figure 40.1 | Difference between solar time and ‘mean solar time’, and the separate
contributions of the two underlying effects.

The two contributions are shown in the graph. Superposition of

these ‘single and double frequency’ curves yields the total deviation of
the ‘solar noon’ from the ‘mean solar noon’ on our watch. We see that
around February 11 the sun is about 15 minutes later than average,
and around November 3 about 15 minutes earlier.
So, a sundial in our front yard may be quite charming, but
understanding its readings requires a scientist.

111